With all the television commercials, radio and print advertising and hype that is thrown at us to make us buy something, it can be tough to know what to look for when you are buying that special man in your life tools that he will enjoy using on the lawn or in the garden.
Sure, you probably love getting outdoors, too, so being a smart buyer will help you as much as him.
Though there are a number of things to account for when you are trying to buy the right tool, I want to share just two things to keep in mind that may help a lot.
Think Quality and Not Quantity or Price Yes, believe it or not, although men can be pretty "scrooge-ish" with spending money at the holidays, most men would definitely rather be given just one good quality (and more expensive!) tool than an assortment of cheap, low quality tools.
Just like owning a well made truck or a classic, well made motorbike, men take pride of ownership in high quality tools they know can last them for decades.
Think Ease of Use, but Don't Get Duped by the Silly 100 Uses Gimmicks There truly are some cool innovations in tools that make using them easier, more satisfying, and much more useful.
For instance, most people now use the same tool to drill, grind and screw, without ever needing more than one unit and never having to use a power cord.
But, as you know, many of the advertising gimmicks promise one tool will do a hundred things, saving you hundreds of dollars, and when you actually get your hands on it and begin working with it, it's easily broken, interchangeable parts start falling off, and you realize you were duped.
Thankfully, in the world of lawn and garden tools, there are a few manufacturers using cool innovations to produce great products.
They are creating high quality, easy to use, long lasting tools that combine telescopic technology to adjust handle length for varied applications with the ability to quickly interchange various heads to allow one tool to tackle many jobs.
But, again, beware! Low quality plastic or metal, flimsy locking mechanisms and bad designs can make a telescopic tool so frustrating, and even dangerous, that you will see it in the trash can before you take down the tree! In most cases, the original innovator and manufacturer of new technology creates product worth owning, but quickly the idea is imitated by others who create low-quality imitations, or "knock offs" to ride the wave of popularity created by the originator.
Sometimes the imitation isn't too bad, but unfortunately this is rarely the case.